this morning on "early today," plugged up. that blownout well bped is the largest oil spill in u.s. history and is finally declared dead. home sweet home. an american hiker jailed in iran for more than a year speaks out. and house arrest. actor randy quaid and his wife in hot water again. this time, accused of squatting. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pick time zone. i'm lynn berry and today we begin with mission finally accomplished.

bp said a permanent seal is in a place at the bottom of the gulf of mexico. however, killing the catastrophic well off is a bittersweet victory for gulf coast residents who fear they'll be battling the effects of the nation's worst environmental disaster for years to come. nbc's jay gray has our report. >> reporter: it began april 20th with a massive fireball and deadly flames cutting through the night air as the deepwater horizon rig exploded then collapsed. 11 fives were lost and oil began to seep into the gulf. the start of the worst spill in u.s. history. now 154 days later government scientists say the final seal, barrels of cement, is holding tight and that the well will never leak again. president obama acknowledged the work that's been done and perhaps the more difficult job that lies ahead in a written statement which says in part, we will continue to work closely with the people of the gulf to

rebuild their livelihoods and restore the environment that supports them. my administration will see our communities, our businesses and our fragile ecosystems through this difficult time. difficulties that continue to watch up along the gulf coast. cleanup teams fight every day at plaquemines parish but it seens right now the oil is winning the battle. >> we can't fix this on our own. we can't rebuild this on our own. we need -- we need help from the whole country, i mean, really. we need everybody. >> reporter: help they may need for years here. jay gray, nbc news, venice, louisiana. well, freed american hiker sarah shourd spoke out yesterday in defense of her fiance and a friend, both still held captive in iran, calling their arrest and detention a "huge misunderstanding." shourd's comments were carefully

construct and coincided to be with iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad's visit to new york to address the u.n. general assembly. nbc's brian moore has the story. >> reporter: sarah shourd is back on american soil. no longer an iranian prisoner, but still living a nightmare. >> and i stand before you today only one-third free. >> reporter: iran is preparing to try her fiance shane bauer and their hiking companion josh fattal, 13 months after the three were arrested near the iran/iraq border. >> we committed no crime, and we are not spies. >> reporter: reading a prepared statement, shourd thanked the religious and political leaders in iran for her release. >> the only thing that enabled me to cross the gulf from prison to freedom alone was the knowledge that shane and josh wanted, with all their hearts, for my suffering to end. >> reporter: and for their mothers, the vigil continues. >> i love him so much, and i want you home for his father, for his brother, for his grandparents. >> reporter: they are hoping to

meet with iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad, in new york for meetings with the general assembly. he hints a prisoner exchange may be possible. >> translator: so i believe that it would not be misplaced to ask that the u.s. government should make a humanitarian gesture. >> reporter: one family reunited, while two others hold brian moore, nbc news, washington. disturbing details revealed in yesterday's "washington post." uncovered, a shocking story of rogue members of one u.s. army platoon randomly targeting and killing afghan civilians for sport. according to military documents, and interviews, the newspaper reported five members of the unit staged killings in kandahar province while seven others have been charged with crimes related to the case. apparently what started as a mock war game waged against one afghan man led to the unprovoked murder of at least three other people over several months.

other charges filed allege soldiers dismembered and photographed corpses, used illegal drugs, tried to interfere with the investigation, and assaulted one private who blew the whistle on the gruesome attacks. the accused soldiers reportedly deny any wrongdoing. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in utah crews are working to contain a fast-moving fire that allegedly broke out at a machine gun range during a training exercise prompting the evacuation of some 1,400 homes. so far, there are no reports of fatalities or injuries, though one woman was treated for smoke inhalation. in new jersey, crews worked to clean up thousands of rotting fish that have washed up at a local beach. it's not clear what caused the massive fish kill, but low oxygen levels could be to blame. the department of environmental protection is investigating. and in louisiana, local artists and celebrities came together for a unique

fundraising project. turning shin-high shrimp boots into works of art. over 40 uniquely designed boots, including one signed by saints head coach sean payton, and another boot designed by nbc's own hoda kotb. those boots will be raffled off, and proceeds will go to the victims of the oil spill. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. bill, good morning. >> good morning, lynn. a wonderful weekend? >> yeah. ready to get the week started with nice weather. >> depends where you are. especially the west coast. tracking igor all weekend long. a big category 4 hurricane headed for bermuda. it went right over the top of the island last night but the conditions weakened. the storm went down to a category 1 right before landfall. enough to knock out power, down

trees and another couple days of cleanup. it wasn't a devastating blow for the island. that's igor. in the pacific northwest, stormy weather on and off all weekend long. we did get in some football games. nice weather for those, but overall, a cool, damp weather pattern in the northwest where we've seen record heat in areas of arizona. it was 112 or 111 yesterday in arizona. shower activity, hit and miss this morning for the most part. temperatures coolest over the northwest. forecast for today, umbrella in the northwest. the deep south and southwest, phoenix today 107, near record heat. that's lookde. a lot cooler today around salt lake city.

lynn, record heat in arizona won't last all week long. big cool down coming. dames coming up. >> bill, thank you. remember the phrase, as gm goes, so goes the nation? well, a big part of the company may be bought by the chinese government. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus perpetual troublemakers paris hilton and lindsay lohan spend the weekend weaving their way through legal issues. >> another rough outing for brett favre, redskins and texans need overtime and a remarkable grab by randy moss. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today," i'm lynn berry and here are some of your top headlines this morning -- as the ballots are counted in this weekend's afghan parliamentary elections, observers of the vote are questioning its legitimacy. they're concerned about numerous fraud complaints. also, it appears some afghans were scared away by violence that killed 11. preliminary results are not expected until october.

a wave of attacks across iraq yesterday killed at least 36 people. it marked the worst violence there since the u.s. formally declared an end to combat operations. and in california, actor randy quaid and his wife are facing burglary charges after apparently being caught living in a house they haven't owned for years. officials say the couple insistented they still owned the home, but documents proved that wasn't the case. this was the couple's second serious brush with the law in the past year. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,607, after adding 13 points on friday. the s&p was up a fraction. the nasdaq gained 12. taking a look at overseas trading this morning -- in tokyo, the nikkei climbed 116 points, while in hong kong shgs the hang seng edged up 6. this week, wall street

investors will be hoping some kind of boost from the federal reserve will provide a turning point for markets mired in uncertainty. what steps, if any, will fed chief ben bernanke and company take to help jump-start the struggling economic recovery when they meet tuesday on interest rates? they could lower rates or make other moves to stimulate the economy. with recent upbeat data, including stronger than expected private sector job growth, most analysts don't expect major moves. still, positive comments alone could spark market confidence. it's a big week ahead for readings on the state of the nation's housing market. new and existing home sales, along with new home construction, are expected to rise but look for both permits for future home construction and home prices to fall. this week we'll also get quarterly earnings reports from companies such as bed, bath & beyond, discover financial, nike, and general mills. and speaking of general miamis, the company refused to comment sunday on a report it's

considering a $1.5 billion bid for the french yogurtmaker yoplait. elsewhere, no comment from gm, and the treasury department on reports gm is in talks with its current partner in china saic about buying a stake in the company. saic is owned by the chinese government. an indian conglomerate is reportedly in discussions about buying the struggling film studio metro goldwyn-mayer for $2 billion. and finally, in a sign parents are still cutting back on nonessential spending in england, news that children's weekly pocket money has fallen to a seven-year low there. well, peyton faces eli. a redskins kicker gets frozen, and brett favre saves the wrong team. plus -- randy moss makes an incredible one-handed catch. but was it enough to help the patriots slide past the jets? your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and in weather this week, we

go from summer to fall, but it's not going to feel like it. your monday forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, when it comes to tough sibling rivalry, try being

peyton manning's little brother. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning. peyton manning took it to his little brother eli as the colts led from start to finish. mom and dad on hand to see their boys play. indy up 14-0, peyton threw three touchdowns. tough game for eli. sacked and fumbled in the third, colts recovered in the end zone. nothing went right for the giants. and a game turned in by randy moss. a remarkable one-handed grab. one more time. they made it look easy. after that, all new york. jets upset the patriots 28-14. final minute, scrambled, aired it up to johnson in the ed zone tying it to overtime. redskins, a chance to win. nail as 52-yard field goal. game over, right?

wrong. houston call add time-out just before he kicked it's in wouldn't it know it. shanked. texans iced the kicker it worked. completing the comeback. a chip shot. texans raled from 17 down. and looked good. a pair of touchdown passes beat the lions. another forgettable day for brett favre. the dolphins picked him off three times. the ball batted around, never touched the ground, and miami came up with it. vikings lost again 14-10. and finally a great catch to show you from the bruins ryan braun. ross hit one down the line in left. braun timed it perfectly. robbed ross of a home run. the coach called it one of the best catches he's ever seen. i have to agree. giants won it. 9-2. that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. a giant upset at the box office this weekend. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, they're in the prime

of their life, and showing it off for a good cause.

welcome back on this monday morning. temperatures continue to be on the cool side in the northwest. highs only in the mid-60s from seattle to portland. nicer towards boise and improving weather around the day

around spokane, also. vegas and phoenix very hot including friends in fewstucson. a trough moving in off the coast knocking down the temperature on tuesday. wednesday even more. getting rid the record heat in the desert. if you're watching on kndo 23 in washington, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's -- an exhibit! comics or photographic novels pique your interest, head to the march pi hill museum of art in goldendale for comics at the crossroads. that's your pacific event of the day, lynn. your script comic book junkie with spider-man stuff. >> all of my closeting are full of them. i'll love my way out there. thanks, bill. elsewhere, over the weekend lindsay lohan confirmed herself via twitter that she has failed a court-ordered drug test which could mean more jail time for the 24-year-old actress.

elsewhere, turns out it must have been paris hilton's purse after all. in exchange for pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges of drug possession and obstructing an officer, hilton will get no jail time. she must complete a drug program and pay a $2,000 fine and serve 200 hours of community service. at the box office, ben affleck's movie fooled the audience. $10 million more than experts predicted on "the town." on the other hand, "easy a" underperformed opening in second place with just over $18 million, and the horror flick "devil" rounded out the top three with just over $12.5 million. i was actually pretty surprised "the town "got great reviews. apparently -- i heard one critic

say ben affleck is one of best directors out there right now. >> he's -- i wonder if it's a friendly competition with he and matt damon. i wonder if he texted him saying, ha, ha. >> i think -- showed you. this comes to us from whdh 7 news in massachusetts where a group of golden girls are the newest calendar girls. the loads bore it all for the sake of charity. the group with ain age range, 63 to 97 were thrilled to be selected. look at that. even more excited to have the support of their biggest fans. their families. i'm lynn berry and his is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

not exactly a match made in heaven, but these two certainly make an interesting pair. the world's tallest man met the world's shortest woman in turkey for the latest guinness book of records. she stands at just 2'4" tall while he towers at 8'3". it's going to be tough to take his title, because if you can believe it, doctors say he is still growing. do not try this at home. at an annual ritual in india, a local holy man allows himself to get bitten on the tongue by a poisonous snake. oh. according to tradition, villagers sing and dance for nine days leading up to the main event. it's believed that the daring act spares the rest of the town from fatal snake bites.

here's one way to ensure a good tip, be named top champ at the annual waiters race in belgium. servers compete in a 1.5 mile race carrying trays filled with glasses and a bottle of booze. the one to cross the finish line spilling as little liquid as possible wins. there are similar competitions take place all around the world. bill, were you ever a waiter? >> i was, actually. >> yeah? >> in college i did some of it. >> would you have been able to keep up? >> no. i was never good at refilling the drinks. it was horrible. >> as long as you're fast it doesn't matter. >> what about you? you ever get the waitress feel skills going? >> not waitress, but i did serve ice cream. i would have been top champ at that. >> how nice. time now for a look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day on nbc. star gazers get your telescopes out tonight. jupiter will be shining brightly in the sky as it makes its closest approach to earth in 50 years. the planet will be only 368 million miles away. it won't be as big or bright

again until 2022. hitting the shelves, former president jimmy carter's book "white house diary." in it, carter talks about his presidential term, the israeli/palestinian conflict, and he also criticizes several fellow democrats, including the late senator ted kennedy, over health care reform. and happy birthday to italian acting legend sophia loren. she turns 76. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." and finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. details on what's next for actress lindsay lohan after she failed a court-ordered drug test. and an exclusive interview with identical twin brothers who are suing the founder of facebook, claiming he stole their idea. and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today." just your first stop of the day,

today, on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com